Stax

US label.
Label Code: LC 0914 / LC 00914
Stax Records is synonymous with Southern soul music. Originally known as Satellite (2), the Memphis company was founded in 1959 by Jim Stewart and his sister, Estelle Axton, and took its new name in 1961 from the first two letters of their last names.

For all Unofficial/ bootleg/ counterfeit releases of this label please use Stax (2)

Among the many artists who scored hits on Stax and its Atlantic distributed and retains distribution rights).

Subsequently the company spawned a new crop of hitmakers, among them Columbia Records, only to find out that it was given a raw deal with more Stax product ending up as cut-outs and intentionally given poor marketing and distribution . Stax was in deep financial trouble with various creditors (particularly the Union Planters Bank in Memphis, from whom Stewart borrowed money to start the company and eventually mortgaged the converted movie theater that was the Stax headquarters) and collapsed, going bankrupt in 1975.

A year and a half later in June 1977, the company's masters and related assets were purchased at an auction by Fantasy, Inc., which periodically revived the Stax and Volt labels for new recordings and reissuing older post-1967 material in addition to releasing previously unreleased pre-March 1968 Stax/Volt recordings, to which it controls the rights.

In 2008, Nikka Costa.

Dating Stax Records

Atlantic distribution:
1962-1968 (701-726) Mono labels are light blue and stereo labels are yellow. Both have the original stacked record logo.

March 1968-1975:
1968-1972 (2000-2045,3001) Yellow label with blue finger snap logo.
1972-1975 (2046-2047, 3002-3024, 5500 series) Yellow label with brown finger snap logo.

Fantasy releases:
1977-1980s (4100 & 8500 series) Purple and white label with black finger snap logo.

1987 June - September.
STAX 801 - 820 series of 20 Stax 7" re-issues. The vinyl pressings were actually manufactured in with 4 prong centers but this was officially a UK release and the specially designed Stax company sleeves were British with the distributor's London address details on the back of the sleeve along with information of all the other 19 releases and expected release dates. Copyright dates of the original issues are retained on the labels. Most, if not all, have different B sides to the original issues.

Further pointers : Rondor Music credits - Rondor did not acquire the publishing rights to the East Memphis Music catalogue until sometime in 1981 so any credits for Rondor Music on labels or sleeves mean the release cannot date from earlier.

UK and European distribution was by EMI (in and the UK), Ariola (in Austria), Movieplay (Spain) and Barclay () until it moved to Polydor from mid-1971 (some territories being late 1971, notably (November 1) and ). Australia and New Zealand moved from Festival Records to Polydor at the same time.